


Winter's Work

by Snarkie



Series: Winter's Work [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, F/F, Lesbian Character of Color, Magical Murder Mystery, Non-binary character, Slow Burn, Soul Bond, lesbians!!!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-17
Updated: 2016-09-18
Packaged: 2018-06-08 23:08:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6878536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snarkie/pseuds/Snarkie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The fall term at at Oxford's Academy of Magical Sciences is off to an unseasonably cold start, but despite sub-zero temperatures and sub-optimal conditions, a romance will bloom...</p><p>When a vicious murder throws Gabi and Addison together it becomes clear that the Academy is hiding secrets under the drifts of snow, and that if the two can't figure out whodunit, the deaths will only continue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Alarms and Aid Spells

**Author's Note:**

> Tags and rating will probably change as the work progresses.
> 
> Updates frequently.

The fall sun filtered through the dorm's lazy white curtains, suspending golden islands of the cloth's woven flowers on the opposite wall. Flecks of dust hung in the beams of light that illuminated Addison Fay's prone form tucked between the sheets, and she blinked open her eyes to begin this tale.

“Shit!” Addison cried, grabbing a brush to yank through her matted frizzy hair as she kicked away the bedclothes, “Shit! I'm late!” 

She was more than late, Addison realized, glancing at what was probably the only clock on campus- it was almost time for her second class. She was the one channeler she knew of without an innate sense of time, and whenever she slept through her alarm it really hit her.

She shimmied into socks then shoes- no, she was still wearing her pajamas- off went the shoes, off the pajamas, on underwear and uniform skirt and blouse and jumper with the university's coat of arms, into her satchel went her books, onto her feet went her shoes, and with a cursory glance in the mirror she was out the door, letting it slam behind her- and she realized she was wearing no bra. Shit.

Addison jiggled the doorknob, well aware that the safety spell would lock it behind her, and equally aware that all the other students, the ones who would normally open it for her, were already in class. She was probably the only student at the university who couldn't muster up the slight magical pulse needed to open a door. Addison stabbed her key at it anyway in quick, fearsome jabs, and each time it veered to the side, ringing slightly as it nicked the doorknob. 

“Shit!”

“Do you need help?” The aid spell chirped, skipping from faerie with a pop to rest on her key. It cocked its head in inquiry, blue wisps of hair spilling over its forehead before it blew them from its eyes. It leaned towards Addison hopefully.

“No, thank you, Sprite.” It never hurt to be courteous to the guardian spells- even the inept ones. She jabbed at the door a few more times, and Sprite bobbed its large head just out of range of the knob each time the key verged. Sprite climbed into Addison's hair, combing out knots to make a little nest and blinking down at the key.

“Are you sure you don't need help?”

“No,” Addison sighed, “I don't need help.”

She pocketed the key. Maybe if she didn't take off her jumper and was careful not to run nobody would notice she wasn't wearing a bra.

“Are you sure Sprite can't-” 

“Yes! Jesus, Sprite, I need help from anyone besides you!”

“Fine,” the aid spell sulked, wrapping a lock of hair around itself like a blanket, “Sprite can wait.”

Addison dashed into Applied Channeling with Sprite still tucked into her hair, and ignored some strange glances as she headed to the back of the room. She just didn't want to be seen today. It would be okay though- the class was taught by a different upperclassman each week, wasn't graded, and didn't count for anything, and if she didn't raise her hand she probably wouldn't be called on by whoever taught that week. It didn't matter- not until Gabi walked in. That changed everything.

Gabi- tall, Latina, and in Addison's mind perfect in every way, sat on top of the desk and smoothed down her trousers. It was because Gabi always wore pants that Addison assumed the girl was a lesbian, and Addison knew she was stereotyping wildly, but she desperately wanted it to be true. Even though Gabi would never go for a girl like her- she was small and routinely frazzled and completely inept at channeling- Addison wanted it to be true. At 22 Gabi was a good three years older than her, and probably wouldn't even date a sophomore, but it didn't matter. Addison could dream. 

Of course, if she was dreaming, this would be a nightmare. She had no bra and a recalcitrant animated spell tangled in her hair, and Gabi would definitely notice.

“Shoo,” she hissed, trying to pry the aid spell from her head, “Sprite, go! Shoo!”

“No!” it whined, “Sprite is comfy here!”

She lowered her voice- Gabi had already begun to talk, “Sprite, not now! Please go!”

“Sprite stays with friend!”

“-name is Gabriella Lopez and I'm going to teach you more in this week than you'd learn in months-” Gabi continued, seemingly ignoring the commotion and adjusting the glasses balanced in her hair.

“Sprite stays! Stop pulling on Sprite!”

“Shh! I'm begging you, Sprite! Go back to wherever you go!”

“-channeling today. To start, we'll be-”

“Sprite no go! Sprite NO GO!”

“Please, Sprite-”

“-then the girl with the aid spell as a hairpiece can come up here and show us how it's done.”

Addison didn't think she had ever been so embarrassed in her life. She shuffled up to the desk as Sprite faded away, and crossed her arms over her chest, figuring combatant was a better look than braless. Gabi stared her down.

“So you think you can channel better than the rest of the class?”

Addison shifted. “I- no.”

There were a few outright laughs- Addison wasn't renowned for her channeling skills. It was well known that the only time she had ever successfully channeled was to pass the entrance exam into the Academy.

“Because you seemed pretty sure of yourself a few seconds ago,” Gabi demanded.

“No...” Addison whispered, “I can't channel.”

“Oh.” Gabi squinted before putting on her glasses, seemed to recognize Addison as school's null, and gave her an awkward pat on the shoulder. “Go sit back down.”  
Walking back to her seat was worse than leaving it, because at least as she had slunk to the front she was unrecognizable. Now she was marked; Gabi would know to match her face with the rumors about the only null ever accepted into Oxford's Academy for the Magical Sciences.  
She gazed off into space for the first half of the lecture, confident that she had ruined her chances of ever getting to know the girl she idolized. It would be just one failure in the wake of many, the continuation of a pattern she had experienced throughout her time at The Academy, and indeed, her life, but this failure would punctuate her ineptitude. This failure was in front of Gabi.

 

“Concentrate,” Gabriella Lopez snapped, although not only at her, Addison realized as she drifted back to reality. Someone had distributed mercury thermometers to each of the students, and Addison’s was sitting in the middle of her desk. From the fierce concentration of the boy next to her and his cry of success, it seemed they were expected to channel heat into the air around the thermometer until it reached its maximum temperature.

Gabi was glaring at the handful of remaining underclassmen who had yet to raise their thermometers above room temperature, “If you can't feel the channel and think at the same time, you're doing it wrong!”

By that point most of the stragglers had managed to raise the mercury in their thermometers to over 100 degrees. Addison didn't bother, aware that no matter what she did she would be the last one sitting by her project, cursing her lack of talent. At this point she wasn't even trying- and Gabi noticed.

“What's your name?” Gabi demanded, stepping too close to Addison for her to really think.

“I- my- uh...” Now Gabi would think she was stupid as well as incompetent. Nice, Addison, nice.

“What's your name?” Gabi repeated, surprisingly gently this time.

“I- Addison.” She was sure her face was scarlet at that point.

“Okay, Addison,” Gabi positioned herself behind her, adjusting Addison's posture, “You want to keep your arms closer together. Stance matters. There- now tap into your  
channel.”

An astonishing amount of nothing was happening, even moreso than usual.

“You know you can do it,” Gabi continued softly, so that just Addison could hear, moving Addison's arms into a new position, “Otherwise you wouldn't be here.”

“I-”

The surge of power blasting from her hands cut her off, engulfing the thermometer in white flames until it exploded from the heat, sending shards of glass across the room right as Gabi snapped her wrist and brought up shields around herself and the rest of the students. The shards collided with them in little sparks of light, and when the magic and smoke began to disperse she caught sight of her thermometer flung across the room, completely charred and missing its top half.

“The hell-” someone coughed from behind the two girls. Addison realized Gabi's arms were around her the instant Gabi realized she had pulled Addison back into the range of her shields, and they disengaged at the same time.

“Null's channeled!” one of the boys shouted, as someone came to pat her on the back, “Good show, Null!” 

She had, hadn't she? Addison had actually channeled powerful magic- by accident, but still- she had channeled! How? She had channeled!

The whole world looked… more real, somehow, through the lens of her magic. The smoke was deafening, her classmates’ congratulations blinding, and Gabi… was glowing, as all living things were glowing, but more so. Gabi was positively radiant with her power, and Addison realized she was seeing the world through her anima, the hidden half of her soul.

As quickly as it had manifested her magic fizzled out, leaving her gaping at the classroom like a sick fish, and she couldn’t help but laugh. She could channel. Finally, Addison could channel.

 

 

Addison was the last out of the lecture hall, and walked from beneath the covered breezeway into one of the many courtyards it connected to. By a fountain in the wall Gabi splashed freezing water across her face that split the sunlight into diamonds dripping from her chin, and Addison noticed that the drops sizzled before they hit the ground. She was feeling bold, too bold.

“What’s up with the water?” Addison asked, covering the distance between them in a few steps, “Are you making it evaporate?”

“A curious student!” Gabi laughed, wicking away the few remaining drops. “I just channeled enough magic to kill a cow, thanks to you.”

“Oh,” Addison had the decency to blush, “Sorry.”

“That’s fine. From what I hear it’s only your second time channeling.” 

“Yeah,” Addison couldn’t help but beam.

“Channeling more magic than you’re used to does strange things to the body. Right now I’m undergoing a rise in temperature, and you look like you’re experiencing euphoria- two very normal reactions.”

Addison already knew about most types of channeling sickness- it was one of the first things students learned. But she had never heard of body temperature rising. “Will you be okay?” she asked.

“I won’t end up like your thermometer, if that’s what you’re asking,” Gabriella grinned, “When I get channeling sickness- the few times I’ve gotten it- I get hot and cold flashes, that’s all.”

Addison found herself smiling back.

“Look,” Gabi said, already dry and beginning to shiver despite her jumper, “Gifted upperclassmen are encouraged to teach underclassmen they think show potential. I already have a protégée, a girl named Louise- she’s quite promising.”

“I know,” Addison blurted out, and Gabriella looked at her a little strangely, but continued.

“But there’s no rule against taking on a second student. I tutor Louise individually, once a week, and I think I could do the same for you.” She wrapped her arms around herself, teeth chattering, and continued, “If this is really only your second time channeling, you managed to draw a lot of magic from the aether. You’re going to be one hell of a channeler if you can ever get your anima under control, and I can help you with that.”

Addison was struck speechless. 

“Well?” Gabi demanded, “Make up your mind, so I can go find a second coat.”

“I- yes. Thank you, Gabriella!” Addison breathed, and Gabriella afforded her a rare smile before shivering again.

“My friends call me Gabi,” she threw over her shoulder, nearly tripping over the steps in her haste to get inside and find something warm, “I’ll find you to discuss details later.”

 

Gabi hurried into her hall, pushing past several freshmen as she took the stairs two by two. It wasn’t dangerous, she reflected, this degree of channeling sickness, but she was cold as balls. Gabi jammed the safety spell and key into her door at the same time, and murmured a bound-word spell as she stepped inside, “αὔω”.

The wood already stacked in her fireplace burst into flame, illuminating the room with a cheery light, and Gabi took in its warmth as she stood nearly among the flames.

Her blue cloak was on the bed, and she waved for it, sending it floating across the room to wrap itself around her shoulders with a sigh of fabric. She was quite proud of her cloak- she had woven the magic into it herself, and it was waterproof, fireproof, and stainproof. Gabi had considered adding bulletproof to the mix, but in her preliminary calculations showed that it would interfere with the stainproof spell, especially on something as temperamental as wool felt- and what would she need a bulletproof cloak for, anyway?

So she had a new protégée. Gabi pressed her palms into the embers of a log, shivering as it filled her with heat. She hadn’t expected Addison as a protégée, of all people- oh, she had done very well pretending not to know Addison’s name; of course, Addison seemed so flustered that she probably wouldn’t have noticed if Gabi had called her by name before asking. That aid spell could make a mess out of anybody.

It was cruel to call Addison to the front of the class when Gabi was already aware that she couldn’t channel on command. If she had just been wearing her glasses she wouldn’t have made that mistake, and once she realized she had, all she could do was send the underclassman back to her seat. As Addison turned around and Gabi got a look at her in profile, she realized Addison had gone braless- not worth having embarrassed her to see, but still. 

Gabi realized with a slight flush that Addison braless might keep her up at night. She was a letch of a teacher, she half-smiled to herself as she gazed into the fire. Not the mentor that Addison deserved, she concluded, driving the smile away altogether. Mentors definitely weren’t supposed to have feelings for their protégées. 

The guilt seemed to warm her up, so she extinguished the fire with a whisper, tumbling backwards onto her bed to ponder the insanity of falling for straight girls.

The next half of the day passed in a blissful haze, and Addison might even have skipped to the rest of her classes if she had been wearing a bra. There were no chances to channel in The History of Channeling or Magic in Politics, courses she had selected especially because they were focused on book learning. For the first time this frustrated her, but it didn’t matter. She knew now that she could do it, that the entrance exam wasn’t a fluke, and she was about to be tutored by Gabi- the most powerful girl in the academy.

It wasn’t until supper that she began to float down to earth again, and Addison noted that it might have been partly because she hadn’t had the time to eat that day between sleeping past breakfast and having Friday classes booked through lunch. She let the smell of her tofu overwhelm her and plopped her tray down next to Sarah, her roommate, who was avidly engaged in conversation with Charlie and Mei-Ying, the girls living across the hall.

“Did you really channel?” Sarah beamed as Addison sat down, and the conversation at all the tables around them went quiet. Addison hoped she wasn’t blushing as hard as she thought.

“Yeah,” she smiled, leaning in to address only the three of them, “Yeah, I did.”

“How did it go?” Mei-Ying whispered.  
“I-”  
“Did you really blow up a classroom?” Sarah asked a little too loudly, “Because I heard that Gabi had to save all your sorry asses.”

“She did, but I didn’t blow up a classroom. I just made a thermometer explode, and she put up shields to keep the glass away… and ended up catching me to pull me out of range”

“Into Gabi’s arms!” Sarah snickered, “Your savior!”

“I’m just happy you’re alive,” Mei-Ying said, “I can’t believe that you channeled!” 

“Wow, guys,” Addison smiled slowly, wiggling her fingers, “I find your lack of faith in my channeling… disturbing.”

“Is that one of your null movie references?” Sarah wondered. “Don’t actually take offense, though. We’re all super proud.”

“Thanks,” grinned Addison, “But that’s not all that happened today. Gabi took me on as her protégée!”

“No!” Charlie gasped, “Do you think she-”

“Likes me back?” Addison whispered, “Naw. But she said she sees potential in me, and it sounded like she meant it.”

“This is huge!” squealed Charlie, waving her hands in tiny circles and attracting more attention than Addison really wanted, “You absolutely cannot waste this opportunity!” 

She started rummaging in the front pocket of her book bag, and furtively looked around before pressing a small pouch into Addison’s hand. 

“You need this more than I do,” she whispered, closing Addison’s fingers around the pouch. “If you want to impress her, use these.”

“Is it candy?” Addison asked, and a few more heads turned.

“Shh!” Charlie nearly raised her finger to her lips. “Of course it’s candy, you fooze! Do you want someone to report you?”

“But you know I can’t use it. It doesn’t help me any more than it would a null.”

“That was before you knew you could channel. That was before you channeled so well that Gabi made you her protégée. You know you can do it now. Practice with it once to get the hang of it, so you don’t spaz out the second time you use it, then take it before you meet with her to make yourself way more powerful than you already are,” Charlie suggested.

“Cheat the first time Gabi helps me? It isn’t even official yet- she could report me, or she could back out! She hasn’t even told me when or where we’ll meet!” Addison said.

“She’ll let you know soon,” Mei-Ying assured her, “once she’s registered you with the office and made it official.”

“She will,” Charlie agreed quietly, “and when she does, you want to make a good first impression. It’ll set the tone for the rest of your mentorship.”

“But-”

“It sure as hell sets the tone for my classes,” Charlie added, “I use it before all my channeling tests. I even used it for the entrance exam.”

“You what?” Addison gasped in horror, looking to see if Sarah and Mei-Ying were as shocked as she was. Neither seemed fazed by the admission, and Addison realized that the two of them had probably already known.

“I wasn’t going to tell you, because I knew you’d flip a shit-”

“Well yeah!” Addison hissed, “If anyone found out you could get kicked out! That’s-”

Her last few words echoed as the dining hall went silent and all eyes drifted towards the salad bar, where Headmaster Greene held his hands up for quiet, clapping several times to dispel the last few whispers in the corners of the room. As he stood his legs bent slightly outwards, and a faint tremor ran through his body despite the fireplace beside him. He seemed drawn, somehow, chipped away by time. Benedict Greene, of a mere 90 years, looked as old as any null his age that day, and felt it as he delivered his fateful words.

“One of our own has died today. Louise Barnes-” He paused, dabbing at his brow with a handkerchief and frowning visibly. There were a few gasps throughout the hall, and Sarah leaned in towards Addison.

“Wasn’t that Gabi’s protégée?” she asked. Addison nodded, and looked to Gabi, who had gone pale as Headmaster Greene’s handkerchief. 

“Poor Gabi,” Addison whispered. 

“Everyone liked Louise. Poor-” Mei-Ying began.

“Louise Barnes,” the headmaster continued, composing himself, “took her own life this afternoon. She will be deeply missed by our university and the channeling community as a whole. If anyone would like support working through this difficult time, please reach out to Professors Stone or Freeman, who can provide assistance. A candlelight vigil for Miss Barnes will be held in a week in the great courtyard at eight. The rest of today’s classes are canceled.” 

Headmaster Greene bowed his head to indicate that he was done speaking, and whispers began to drift back into the dining hall.

 

“I can’t believe Louise would do that,” Mei-Ying exclaimed. “She had so many friends.”

“I know!” Sarah said, hushed, “She was so powerful, too. She could have been a really great channeler.”

“She could have,” Addison agreed solemnly. It seemed wrong, disrespectful of the dead, but Addison was more worried about how Gabi would hold up under the news than about Louise. 

Conversation after that lulled, and the four excused themselves one by one from the table. As she made her way back to her room, Addison’s thoughts couldn’t help but keep turning back to Louise’s death. She hadn’t really known Louise- maybe they’d passed each other in the halls every few days, but Louise was at a much higher level than Addison, and they hadn’t ever spoken or had any classes together. Addison could only view her through the lens of her relationship with Gabi, and admire her for her abilities from afar. It was mean-spirited, maybe, but she couldn’t make herself grieve for a girl she didn’t know who was dead anyway. She would go to the vigil just for the sake of the living, because Addison definitely did not believe in life after death. 

Back in her room she pulled the small pouch from her book bag and poured the colorful candies into her hand. They looked so ordinary and harmless, like little off-brand lollipop heads. Addison knew from the one time she had tried them before that they would even taste sweet. The sugar hid the bitter taste of a cocktail of drugs that could make nulls and channelers alike hallucinate, and would widen the channel to the limits of what a person could handle. Candy could do worse than channeling sickness, though- it could kill a channeler who overextended herself. It was little wonder that The Central Committee had banned candy for all but its most senior members, and even that was in its less potent, liquid form.

Unwilling to give herself the time to back out, Addison popped a red candy the size of her thumbnail into her mouth, and felt herself relaxing as a powerful euphoria came over her. She let herself give into it, like Charlie had instructed her the first time she tried it, and tried to open her channel… but the flow of magic did not come. It was as if it was being blocked from somewhere, and Addison slammed her fist to the floor in frustration. She had been so close! She had actually channeled, damn her, so well that Gabi had taken her on as a protégée, and now this? She couldn’t even channel under the influence of candy- couldn’t even feel her anima! Even nulls had some inkling of their animas when they took candy- how could she be worse than a null when she had channeled, she had, twice now in her lifetime? It didn’t make sense, and it wasn’t fair, that all her life she should try so hard and not see anything come from it. 

Addison curled underneath the muffling covers of her bed so no one would hear her cry, and rode images that she knew were hallucinations into the oncoming night.


	2. Vigil

The next week was no different than any other before she channeled, Addison kept telling herself, but deep down she knew it was unlike any other in her life. She had been so convinced she could channel that she had managed to make the people around her believe she was capable as well. Their pity was far worse than any self-loathing she could have summoned up, and Addison wished for the first time that she had never come to the University, had never even tried to channel. This was what she had wanted since she was a child, but she showed no aptitude for magic and it was unreasonable to have thought it would one day come to her. Her parents had said as much, as had a handful of her professors.  
Word had spread around the University of her success, and acquaintances she barely knew from class would come up to her and congratulate her, and she couldn’t meet their eyes. Professors were asking her, for the first time since she had arrived, to come up to the front of the class and channel, and after explaining that her success had been a fluke in several different courses she just began to politely decline. Even during more theoretical classes Addison was lauded, and it took longer for news of her failure to spread than that of her single triumph.   
Almost as bad was Gabi’s continued absence from Applied Channeling. She did not look for Addison as she had promised, and though common sense told her that Gabi was grieving, something ugly deep inside Addison assured her that Gabi had heard of her failure, and didn’t want her as a protégée. It didn’t really matter which was right, she supposed- either way she would be unable to learn from Gabi if she couldn’t channel.   
The beginning of the week passed slowly, and in something of a haze, with the days all blurring together. Addison realized that she couldn’t remember what had happened in her classes, and also realized that she didn’t care because she hadn’t channeled. She may have been wallowing, she conceded to herself, but didn’t she have a right to wallow after all her life’s goals had been crushed?  
Wednesday she slept through her alarm, and went back to sleep when she woke at noon. The next day she didn’t even bother to set an alarm. By Friday afternoon Sarah had had enough.  
“It’s been a week since you channeled, Addison,” she said, pulling the covers off her groaning roommate’s bed, “You’ve gotta get up.”  
“Leave me alone,” Addison groaned, reaching for the blanket.  
“Nope,” said Sarah, pulling the blanket just far enough out of reach that Addison would have to get out of bed to get it. “This is an intervention.”  
She pulled open the shades, and Addison squinted at the light, covering her eyes with the back of her hand. “Stop it, Sarah. Go away.”  
“No way. You have to get out there and try again. You know you can channel now, so stop being a baby and get up. You should be proud!”  
“Proud?” Addison guffawed, “How could I possibly be proud? I know now that I can’t channel- and just when I thought I could!”  
“No. You know now that you can channel, and you have twice now.”  
“But-” Addison began.  
“All you have to do is figure out why you were able to channel the two times you did, and you’ll be able to do it whenever.”  
“Do you think I haven’t done that?” Addison snapped, sitting up, “I’ve come up with thousands of possibilities, have duplicated the circumstances around my channeling- you know how hard I tried to make it work over the weekend.”  
“So you’re only going to spend two days trying?” Sarah frowned.  
“I’ve spent my life trying!” Addison snarled, “And guess what? I’ve wasted all those years. I was perfectly good at school as a null, and I should have stuck with that!”  
“Fine. You’re a failure,” Sarah huffed, “Don’t say I didn’t try.”  
Addison knew exactly what her roommate was doing. “I’m not about to argue it. I’ve already said I am.”  
“Come on, Addison!”  
“I’m going back to sleep,” Addison said, curling into a ball and shutting her eyes.  
“So maybe you can’t channel on command. So what? At least you can, and that’s more than almost everyone else in the world can say. You know what?” Sarah paused, as if hoping that Addison might answer. “I’ll leave you alone-”  
“Thank you sweet Jesus!” Addison exclaimed.  
“-if you come to the vigil tonight. I swear I won’t say another word.”  
Addison paused, considering. “Fine.”  
“But shower first. I don’t think you’ve showered in like two days.” Sarah wrinkled her nose.

 

Being clean actually cleared her head a bit. It could be worse, Addison figured. There were people who couldn’t channel at all, and Sarah could be right. Channeling once might have been a fluke, but twice? Not likely. Maybe it was a mental thing, where she had to be in the right mindset, and it wasn’t something about her surroundings. Her professors always suggested channeling while calm, but could it be that she could only channel while nervous? She was certainly nervous during admissions, and almost just as nervous channeling in front of Gabi. If she could recreate the conditions of her nervousness, she might be able to do it again. It was definitely worth a try.  
Smiling at this new possibility, Addison finished tying the ribbon behind her calf-length black dress. Sarah turned around and snickered at her.  
“That just might win the award for ugliest fucking dress of the season,” she grinned.  
Addison grimaced. “I know, but it’s the only black dress I have. My mom bought it for me for my great-aunt’s funeral, and told me to bring it in case I went to a party.”   
Sarah scrunched her lips. “That’s your mom’s idea of a party dress? Damn, Addison, your parents are so conservative.” She looked down at her own dress, right into her cleavage, and fiddled with her bra. “That thing goes right up to your neck. You’ve got to show at least some boob.”  
“To a vigil?” Addison looked scandalized.  
“You can’t go in that,” Sarah replied pragmatically, “Borrow one of my dresses and wear a jumper over it- don’t go out there looking like a grieving widow from Victorian England.”  
Addison reluctantly acquiesced under the assumption that anything that Sarah could lend her couldn’t be as bad as what she was wearing. Technically she was not wrong, as she supposed that the dress she borrowed could have shown more leg, and Addison was grateful that with the sweater this dress didn’t expose her top half quite as much as the one Sarah was wearing, but she still felt a little too revealed as Sarah led her through the crowd that had gathered in the great courtyard.  
“Why can’t we just stand on the edge?” she asked, dragging her feet a little as Sarah led her deeper into the throng.  
“Because you’re going to stand next to Gabi.” Sarah answered simply.  
“That- that’s an awful idea!” Addison exclaimed, stopping in place and gripping her candle like a weapon. “I’m not going to bother her while she’s grieving!”  
“No, just stand next to her. Look- she’s right there, at the front, like I thought.” Sarah gave her roommate a little shove, propelling her past several people and right into Gabi, who stumbled to regain her balance.  
“I’m so sorry!” Addison exclaimed, looking around for Sarah, who had disappeared into the crowd. There went her excuse to leave.  
Gabi looked at her a little oddly, and looked around herself. “That’s okay,” she replied, turning back towards the front.  
Addison did as well, unsure of what to do and clutching her candle white-knuckled. Gabi didn’t really seem to be there with anybody, and the two were alone together directly in front of the podium, surrounded by bunched-together groups of Louise’s closest friends.  
The headmaster rose to the podium, looking far more put together than during his previous announcement, and coughed several times to quiet the crowd. “Thank you all for coming out this evening. As you know, we’re here to remember Louise Barnes, who tragically left us a week ago today. She was an accomplished student, loving daughter, and dear friend to all who knew her. If you could please light your candles in remembrance of Louise.”  
Around Addison the air practically began to shimmer with magic as students channeled fire into their candles. Gabi lit her own with a single touch of a finger, and looked over at Addison.  
“Do you want help?” she asked, not unkindly, reaching out to light Addison’s candle to save her from having to ask. So Gabi had heard that it was a fluke, then.  
“I- I can manage, thanks,” Addison blushed, realizing as soon as the words were out of her mouth that there was no way she was getting her candle lit barring divine intervention. And then she realized how nervous she was, and couldn’t help but grin. She was nervous, wasn’t she? She was surrounded by several hundred people, feeling fully exposed in the little black dress Sarah lent her, and was about to channel or fail in front of Gabi. Yes, she was nervous, for sure.  
Addison closed her eyes and reached within herself, and found that she could see her center of power. She reached for it, imagined a tiny flame emerging from her hand and moving to the candle wick, and when she opened her eyes, there it was. The candle was burning. Half of it had been used up in an initial burst of fire, but it was burning. Gabi looked on in surprise, but when Addison met her eyes she turned back towards the podium. Yes, Addison had channeled. She knew how to channel.   
Addison managed to stop grinning when she realized that just by lighting her candle she had made a scene, and everyone around her except Gabi was looking at her. She tried to make herself listen again, but couldn’t stop her mind from wandering. She had really done it, hadn’t she? Even if she could only channel when she was nervous, it was so much better than not being able to channel at all. Addison was barely there for the next part of the vigil, only beginning to zone back in halfway through as Headmaster Greene turned the microphone over to Professor Freeman.   
“I know that everyone here will miss Louise for her spirit, and for her endless kindness, but she will be especially missed among our LGBTQ students. She was a pillar of our transgender community-”  
Louise was trans? Addison hadn’t known that. She felt a sudden pang of loss at Louise’s death, that a fellow LGBTQ girl could slip away so easily. It humanized this girl she didn’t know, the knowledge that she was very much like Addison, and she wished she could have gotten to know Louise-  
And then Gabi grabbed her hand.  
Gabi. Grabbed. Her hand.  
Gabi was crying, and Addison gave her hand a gentle squeeze. She had moved her candle to her other hand, Addison realized, so taking her hand couldn’t have been an accident. She had actually chosen to hold on to Addison.  
They just stood there, Gabi holding a candle in her left hand and Addison holding one in her right as if erecting a fiery wall between them and the world, and all in it that would harm them. They stood there until the ceremony was over, remained as the bunches of people around them began to disperse, and it wasn’t until they were nearly alone that Gabi began to lead her, by the hand, to the corner of one of the trellised walkways. Gabi stopped as if in contemplation, and sat on the edge of the stone bench build into the wall. Addison seated herself beside her, and Gabi glanced at her, as if seeing her for the first time.  
“I- sorry about that,” she blinked, dabbing at her eyes with the end of her sweater sleeve. “I kind of forgot to let go of your hand.” She laughed, the flatness of it echoing off the wall behind them.   
“Oh, yeah- that’s okay,” Addison said, scratching her shoulder to do something with her hands. Gabi was looking right into her eyes.  
“I just-damn,” Gabi whispered, “I should be used to it by now, you know? I didn’t come from a very safe community, and people I know have died before, but… here is different.”  
Addison nodded. Nobody had expected someone at the University to die, not one of their own.  
“Louise wanted to start a clinic. A clinic for animals, like the channeling clinics for nulls who can’t be saved with regular medicine. She was only sixteen, and she had already come up with a new way of channeling electricity to cauterize wounds. She was going to be one of the greats someday.”  
Addison could only nod.  
“She laughed so often. She was so happy! I don’t understand why she would...” Gabi trailed off. “It’s just so unlike her.”  
“It sounded like it,” Addison agreed, “Professor Freeman said that she was always so cheerful- I’m so sorry, Gabi.”  
“It just doesn’t make sense-” Gabi mused, “How could she walk into one of the most beautiful gardens on campus and stab herself through the heart? Why would she choose that as the place? Why would she do it in the first place? I don’t think she…” Gabi lowered her voice to a murmur, “I don’t think she killed herself.”  
“So then… you think what?” Addison whispered aghast, unable to make her lips form ‘murder’. “I don’t think-”  
“No, listen. Louise had never been depressed in her life. She was so happy, had perfect scores in all of her classes, had so many friends- she wouldn’t have. There’s no way Louise cried in her life, ever.”  
“Everyone’s depressed sometimes,” said Addison.  
“Not Louise. Louise was the most happy, hardy, friendly girl I ever knew. It was like she ate sunshine for breakfast, and everything always went her way, too. She came from the happiest family around- both parents were channelers, an adorable little brother. She had a nest of abandoned baby birds she was taking care of in her room, and secretly kept an injured squirrel that couldn’t forage for himself. If nothing else, she wouldn’t leave her animals without someone to care for them.”  
“You still can’t be sure-“ Addison began.  
“No, I’m sure,” interrupted Gabi, “because her anima had moved on, dissipated, whatever animas do by the time they found her. Don’t you think that’s weird?”  
“Sure, but lots of animas move on quickly. Some only stay with the body or at the place of death for a few days.”  
“They found her within hours, Addison. Hours,” Gabi said urgently, grabbing Addison’s hands again, “Since when do animas disappear within hours? I think something happened to her.”  
“Something magical?” Addison murmured, incredulous.  
Gabi held her hands tighter, leaning in to whisper, “Louise would not have killed herself. I know her well enough to know that. When she died, there was someone there with her. Someone who did something to her anima to keep it from talking.”   
Addison didn’t know how to respond.  
“Well?” Gabi prompted, “Say something! I know I’m not crazy, but you’re looking at me like I am.”  
“I-” Addison began, “I’m just not sure. It seems really unlikely that someone… hurt her. I mean, why would anyone here do that? Especially to her, if she was as kind as you’re saying.”  
“She was,” Gabi growled, dropping Addison’s hands. “She was a good person.”  
“No, I didn’t mean-” Addison managed.  
“She was the kindest person I’ve ever met. I knew her as well as anyone here, and I’m telling you, she wouldn’t have been able to hurt anybody, including herself!” Gabi was becoming increasingly animated.  
“I-”  
“Look.” Gabi took a deep breath, holding it for a moment before letting it out in a rush of dissipated anger. “I shouldn’t have dumped this all on you. I barely know you! I’m sorry- this isn’t your problem to deal with. I’m just- I’m gonna leave. Thanks for listening to me, anyway, Addison.”  
As Gabi stalked away Addison looked down at her hands, red around the edges where Gabi had clung to them. It was a tiny bit painful, actually, but could never match the hurt of Gabi getting up and walking away.


	3. Murder and Misgivings

“Wake up!” Sarah whispered urgently, shoving at Addison’s shoulder, “Come on, Addison.” Her eyes shone in the low light.  
“Why-” Addison began, looking up. Charlie was standing over her as well, nearly giddy.  
“Come on,” Charlie chorused, “You have a visitor.”  
“I will when you tell us your last name,” Addison grinned, pushing away the covers anyway.  
“Never!” Charlie grinned right back, giving Addison the finger.  
The two peeked their heads outside the dorm room’s door, waiting as Addison reluctantly followed. Sarah shoved her outside, again directly into Gabi.  
She didn’t seem to notice as she stared down at Addison. “It’s happened again. Another one’s died.”  
“Well shit,” Charlie giggled, “I hope that’s code for something.”  
“Could you go somewhere else?” Gabi didn’t even bother to blunt her tone, boring directly into Charlie, who shivered, still smiling.  
Charlie nodded, hiccupping as she led Sarah into her bedroom and shut the door. She might have been a little high.  
“Come in here,” Addison opened her door wider, shutting it behind the two of them as soon as Gabi was inside. “What do you mean, another one’s died?”  
“I found a body, stabbed through the heart.” She whispered, deathly quiet. “I reported it to Professor O’Hara, and she agrees- there’s a murderer among us.”  
“My God,” Addison breathed, half-convinced, “Was the anima there? Could you-”  
“It wasn’t. By the time I found him- and I think he had been killed right after the vigil- the anima was gone.”  
“It’s… it’s possible that it was another suicide,” Addison whispered, desperately, “I just can’t believe that someone at the university would do something like this.”  
“Believe it,” Gabi said, “Because it’s the truth. I saw the murderer with my own eyes.”  
Addison nearly tripped over her own feet. “You- who was it?”  
“I didn’t see the face. But it was a man, I think. They were tall.”  
“I- God. I can’t believe it,” she repeated. “How will they solve it? Do you think they’re going to involve the null cops?” Addison mused.  
“No,” Gabi replied, “Null police won’t have anything to do with this mess, I’m sure. They leave channelers to themselves when crimes only involve other channelers.”  
“Then won’t central step in?”  
“And do what? Do you really see the chancellor branching into fighting crime?”  
“But this involves channelers! You’d think he’d do something!”  
“I’ve actually been to central to watch the committee deliberate. Trust me, they won’t even decide that they’re going to leave it to the University until they talk it over for several months. They have to have a unanimous vote to actually ever do anything, remember.”  
“Then the University ‘ll solve it.”  
“The University are the ones who called Louise’s death a suicide!” Gabi bordered on shouting. She did have a point, though. Addison’s confidence in the University as a crime-solving entity was limited. “Look,” she began, “Someone killed Louise and that boy, and I intend to find them,” Gabi said, “And I want your help.”  
Addison took a step back. “Help? But I’m practically a null! Why are you asking me?”  
“Remember the puzzle you had to solve during the entrance exam? The one about the child in the well, the really difficult one?”  
“It wasn’t actually that difficult,” Addison said.  
Gabi stared at her. “You’re the only one who solved it. You didn’t know that? It was supposed to be unsolvable- it’s about how you approach an unsolvable problem.”  
“How did you know I solved it?” Addison asked incredulously.  
“I read your file.” Gabi waved a hand dismissively. “I did it for Louise too- I would never take on a protégée that I hadn’t looked into.”  
“But-“ Addison demanded.  
Gabi cut Addison off again. “I think you’ll be able to channel really well someday, with enough practice. But that’s not the reason I want you to help me, and it’s not because I’m mentoring you, either. It’s because you see things other people don’t.” Gabi poked Addison’s forehead, sending chills through her body. “I can channel well enough for both of us, but two brains are better than one if we’re solving a murder. It’ll be much easier this way.”  
“You can’t just assume I’m going to help! This is-”  
“Aren’t you, though? Don’t you want to bring Louise’s killer to justice?”  
“No! We can’t do anything that the University can’t do! There’s no point in bothering-what could we even accomplish?”  
“Fine!” Gabi nearly screamed, “I thought I could count on you, but I guess I thought wrong!”  
She let the door slam shut behind her on her way out, and Addison had a thought- how had Gabi had time to read her file in the few minutes between class and when she offered to mentor Addison? Had Gabi been looking into her for some reason beforehand?  
\------------------------------

Murder wanted to be the talk of the morning, and students huddled in shivering flocks in front of the doors of the dining hall, their speculations catching on the cold air before they could spin thought into word. Icicles had formed overnight from a brief but freezing rain, clinging to the gutters and threatening to plummet to the ground like heavenly spears with each gust of heavy wind. Several students cast anxious glances skywards, channels at the ready should the ice begin to fall.  
Gabi stood near the front of the crowd, among a group of students craning their heads to read the notices posted on the massive wooden doors. She adjusted her glasses, squinting in an attempt to focus on the print.  
“Students and faculty-” the first page began, “As many of you may know, Brian McGregor, a third-year student and cherished member of our community, passed away last night under abnormal circumstances.”  
Abnormal circumstances? That’s what they were calling it? Gabi restrained herself from tearing the page from the nail, and instead read on to the next.  
“While we do not believe that the two tragedies are related, a committee composed of faculty and staff has been formed to investigate the circumstances surrounding Mr. McGregor’s and Miss Barnes’ passing. If you have any information pertinent to the inquiry, please contact one of the members of the committee:  
Professor O’Hara, heading and organizing the committee  
Professor Ross  
Professor Jenkins  
Professor Kurihara  
Professor Anderson  
Professor Diaz  
Headmaster Greene  
Gabi guffawed. Save for headmaster Greene, it was as if Professor O’Hara had intentionally chosen the strongest professors in the school rather than the most competent. It was well accepted that competence decreased with channeling ability. The most talented channelers were exceptionally sharp, but were so disorganized they never got anything done, hence the reputation of the Committee at central. The way Professor O’Hara had organized this, the University’s committee would be no more helpful. How could anyone not have realized that putting the best channelers in a room together and asking them to solve a problem would end in anything other than failure?  
She overcame her anger, reading on, “This is a difficult time for our community as a whole, and we strive to put your wellbeing foremost. If you need to talk to someone, please contact Professor Freeman or Professor Stone. Be sure to reach out to your classmates during this time, but we urge you not to spread rumors about these two unfortunate events. We will work through this episode as one University. Please remain calm, and know that you are still in a safe environment.”  
Safe? With a killer on the loose? Gabi sincerely doubted that- she hadn’t thought he would strike again, had figured Louise was the only victim, but this changed things. The murderer might kill a third time, and the committee wouldn’t have stopped him by then- if the committee was even for more than the student body’s peace of mind.  
It really was up to individuals now, Gabi realized. A handful of other students might look into it too, but Gabi didn’t know which, or who she could ask to help her. The only person she really could have asked was Louise, but that was impossible now. Anyone else was liable to react the way Addison did, and Gabi wondered for the umpteenth time why she had asked her when she barely knew her. It had been a mistake pressing the point, and she had worried briefly she had alienated a potential friend- and had there been a spark of something more between them that afternoon in the courtyard?- but it didn’t much matter in the wake of Louise’s death. A good deal less mattered because of that.  
She would go it alone, as was her policy for most of life. Yes, she would do her best to bring the killer to justice on her own, for the sake of her fallen friend.


	4. Nulls with Lockpicks

Breakfast was more quiet that usual, with many of the students failing to join in to the tangle of voices that marked mornings at the University. For her part Gabi was silent, choosing for the fourth time in the last two weeks to sit alone rather than at her usual table, where the top students discussed theoretical channeling and the latest from Central. She just wasn’t able to get excited about the newest discoveries at the moment, and wanted to be able to think for a while.  
“Can I sit here?” someone asked quietly from behind her. She spun, and was shocked to see Addison looking at her expectantly.  
“Oh, sure,” she waved her to take a seat, “Of course.”  
“Sorry about yesterday,” Addison began.  
“That’s okay,” she said, though it wasn’t. She really didn’t need Addison there right now. Gabi poked at her tofu sausage- vegetarian; Addison was probably the only one at the University who hadn’t gone veggie or vegan, and Gabi glanced towards Addison’s plate. She seemed to have brought her own beef jerky for breakfast.  
Addison covered her jerky with a napkin, following Gabi’s gaze. They stared at each other’s plates for a moment.  
“So.” Addison began again, “I shut your idea down kind of hard. I figured-”  
Gabi cut her off. “Addison… thanks for apologizing. I mean it. But can we not do this right now?” That came out harsher than she had expected.  
“I wasn’t here to apologize,” Addison stated, then began to backtrack. “I mean, I’m sorry about last night, but what I’m saying is, I looked at the list. The committee they formed isn’t going to get anything done.”  
Gabi felt ready to put her head in her hands.  
“So,” Addison hurried, “I want to help you.”  
“Look, Addison- wait.” Had she heard right? “You want to help me? Why?”  
“Because I think even we have a better chance of solving this than Central or this new committee. Also, you looked kind of-” she paused, “upset over here, and I wanted to come talk to you. I’m sorry if I made a mistake. I- I can leave you alone now, if you want.”  
Addison grabbed her tray and moved to get up, but Gabi reached out and placed a hand on her arm, holding her back. They both froze at the same time- had Addison felt that spark Gabi noticed? A look into her eyes said she had.  
“Wait.” Gabi managed, pulling her hand away as Addison warily lowered herself back into her seat. “I- thanks. Your help would be great.”  
They looked away at the same time, and after a long minute Gabi spoke. “So I wasn’t able to tell you everything I saw last night.”  
Addison leaned in, eyes widening, “You mean you actually got a good look at the killer?  
“Well, I wouldn’t say a good look,” Gabi hedged, “But I got a look all the same. I’m almost sure it was a man, from the way he moved, but I can’t rule out a tall woman.”  
Addison nodded, eager for her to continue. She reached into her bookbag to take out a notepad, and began writing down Gabi’s description.  
“He had dark hair, and dark clothing. He could run fast, so he had to have been in good shape. Oh!” she remembered, “And he was wearing a long black trench coat.”  
“-And he was wearing a long black coat,” confirmed Addison, writing down the information on her notepad. “Did you see anything else?”  
“No, just that he was tall, probably taller than almost any of the girls here. That rules out plenty of people.”  
“And you’re sure he was the murderer.” Addison squinted. “It really could have been anyone walking through the library at that hour, couldn’t it?”  
“But this guy was running away. Why would he be running in the library if he wasn’t the murderer, and hadn’t seen me coming?”  
“You didn’t see anything else about him? Skin color, hair length?”  
“No,” Gabi sighed, “You know that the library is only lit by fae-light at that hour, and he had his hair tucked into a hat and his collar turned up. A tiny bit was poking out the back.”  
“Damn. You’re right- I bet nobody else saw him either. Does he know you saw him?”   
“Yeah,” Gabi said, “He definitely saw me. I think he got a better look at me than I did at him.”  
“That’s not good,” Addison bit her lower lip, and realized that Gabi was looking at her a bit differently. “Do you think he can identify you?”  
“I’m not sure,” Gabi admitted.  
“Because if he can, he might try to keep you from talking.”  
Gabi seemed to have already come to the same conclusion. “I guess I’ll have to be on my guard,” she replied soberly.  
They stared at each other in silence for a few moments, the pause only broken when Addison blinked.   
“So, I was going to find some way to break to you that I didn’t have time to train you, and just wasn’t emotionally capable of training another protégée yet-” Gabi began.  
Addison was in no way surprised. She agreed with that, herself, and was expecting the disappointment.  
“But I don’t think I have another option,” Gabi finished, “We need a pretense for being around each other all the time, and everybody seems to already know I was going to teach you.”  
“Yeah, that makes sense,” Addison replied, startling herself by not jumping for joy. It was almost funny how murder put things into perspective- any relationship she might like to have with Gabi would have to go on the back burner, for now.  
“So I don’t see how we’ll narrow down the suspects,” Gabi said, pulling Addison back into reality, “It’s not like we can ask people where they were.”  
“This could be really easy or really hard. First of all, we can’t tell anyone that we’re looking into the murder.”  
“Agreed. I don’t want us to become targets.”  
“Second,” Addison continued, “how do you have access to student files?”  
“I’m a clerk in the headmaster’s and University’s offices, so I have keys to most parts of the campus, including the file room, although technically I’m not allowed back there except on official business. Still, I can go through the files whenever I like, as long as there’s nobody around.”  
“How often do people go into the file room? Can you remove files?”  
“Almost never. And I guess you could remove them, sure. But what if someone went looking for the file while you had it?”  
“Let’s hope that doesn’t happen,” sighed Addison, “Because we really need those files. Those are probably the only database of student information in the whole school, given how averse the professors are to computers.”  
“If even digital watches broke every time you looked at them, you’d hate gadgets too,” Gabi managed to smile, “You just wait- it’ll start happening to you soon, now that you’ve started to channel.”  
“Anyway,” Addison coughed, secretly hoping that she managed to channel frequently enough that it did, “Are the results of the yearly medical exam in the files?”  
“Sure, but why- height! Of course! It’ll have every student’s height and weight, and we can look for the same body type as the killer.”   
“Since classes are canceled today, do you want to go look at the files?”  
Gabi nodded, almost enthusiastically. She had begun to worry that she would be doing nothing what without leads, and it helped to know that they would be making progress. She should have thought of the files herself, but it didn’t really matter now.

They brought their trays to the compost chute, Addison wrapping the beef jerky in a napkin and pocketing it in a sleight of hand she hoped Gabi hadn’t seen, since like most of the students meat clearly bothered her. Several of the students tossed them curious glances as they left- the dining hall was the warmest place in the University with its massive fireplace, and most of them would stay inside for hours, talking with friends about their lives and the deaths.   
Outside the cold hit Addison like a punch to the gut, and she pulled her coat closer.  
“Damn,” she shivered, “It’s cold.”  
“It’s still fall,” Gabi complained, blowing into her hands, “It shouldn’t be freezing like this.”  
Together they shuffled to the library basement, where the files were kept, and Gabi put the key in the lock and turned, pressing the slightest magical pulse into it so the safety spell would deactivate.  
“I’ve never understood what the safety spell is for,” Gabi remarked, “It just makes unlocking doors harder for everyone.”  
“Believe me,” Addison chuckled, “I’ve asked around. And I’ve heard everything from nulls with lock picks to malicious faerie creatures.”   
“But faerie creatures are great magic users.” Gabi pointed out, “If we can deactivate a spell, so can they.”  
“No- their magic is too wild, I think. In faerie they don’t structure their magic much, and so when they come here they’re not used to the structure and they either need to be trained, or spend much more raw magic working to do the same things.”  
“How do you know so much about faerie?” Gabi wondered, “Most people barely believe it exists.”  
“I read up on it when I was little- I used to teach myself about a lot of things. Like lock picking.” Addison pulled a small pouch out of her pocket and waggled it, its contents jingling in a muffled metallic way.  
“Those aren’t-“  
“Yup,” Addison grinned, “Of course, they don’t do much good when I can’t manage the pulse to open a door.”  
“Nulls with lock picks, huh?” Gabi actually smiled, swinging the door open.   
The file room was huge, Addison noticed, file cabinets lined up from wall to stone wall, in rows and around the columns that supported the main floor of the library. It was easily half the size of the ground floor. They could spend years there, Addison realized in dismay, and still not find what they were looking for.  
Gabi seemed to sense her worry. “It’s not as big as it looks. Some prankster archivist decided to line the back wall with mirrors to make it look twice its size, and besides, most of these files have nothing to do with the current students- and there are barely 200 of those. They’re building files, and past student and professor records.”  
Addison froze. “Professors- do you think a professor could have done this?”  
Gabi mirrored her. “I think… I think we should be very careful before we accuse a professor, even just between us two. But… we can’t exclude them. You’re right.”  
“I wish I wasn’t,” Addison murmured, “But yeah, we have to include any professors matching the description too.

It took them the better part of an hour to comb through A to B, and halfway through C Addison began to laugh hysterically.  
“What is it?” Gabi frowned, looking to Addison for an explanation.   
“Oh, I can’t believe this,” Addison breathed, “Look who this is!” She pointed to a picture in one of the files sprawled before across on the floor.  
“I’ve seen you eat with her before… Charlotte Chaplin?”  
“And she goes by Charlie!” Addison howled, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. “No wonder she won’t tell anyone her last name- especially me!”  
Gabi looked closer, frown deepening.  
“She even looks a little like Charlie Chaplin!” Addison managed.  
“No,” Gabi grimaced, “She looks like our first suspect.”  
Addison restrained herself enough to giggle slightly. “Charlie? No way- not Charlie.”  
“Look at her. She’s got black hair long enough to tuck into a hat, she’s tall, she’s healthy enough to run fast, and she always dresses in black- I bet she has a black shirt and pants.”  
“She has a black leather trench coat too,” Addison replied, a little desperately, “But there’s no way this was Charlie. Charlie couldn’t do something like this.”  
“For now, let’s just take her file, okay?”   
Addison nodded, placing it in her book bag, and they got back to work, the mood a little grimmer than when they had started out.  
At the end of six long hours they walked out of the file room with the files on 39 students and 5 professors.   
“Where do you want to keep these- your room, or mine?” Addison whispered, careful not to let her voice travel to the other students that had begun to fill up the library. To her relief nobody had noticed them walking from the basement, but it still didn’t hurt to be careful.  
“How about my room?” Gabi suggested. “I don’t have a roommate, so we can go over to my room and look through them whenever we want.”  
“That would work,” Addison agreed.   
Back out in the cold, Gabi took a deep breath and let it out to watch it crystalize, suspended for a few seconds in a frozen cloud.  
“It really is freezing,” Addison shivered as they started back towards the dorms, “I should start wearing pants, like you. Why do you wear pants, anyway?”  
“Because it’s halfway through the 21st century. Women should be able to dress however the hell they want, go nude even, without worrying about what men’ll think. The dress code here is ridiculous- it reinforces gender stereotypes, and that really matters considering we have kids as young as fifteen at The Uni, kids that still haven’t even decided who they are, and now we’re pushing rules about how girls and guys should act down their throats? It’s just wrong.”  
“So you wear them to make a statement?” Addison wondered, genuinely curious.  
“I wear them because they’re comfortable!” spat Gabi, “A woman wearing pants shouldn’t have to be a statement.”  
They met gazes for a second, and it took until Gabi saw the flicker of agreement flashing across Addison’s eyes for her to back off.   
“Sorry,” Gabi winced, “I just hate how traditional channelers are. Just because they live long lives doesn’t mean they can’t adapt with the times.” She paused for a second, backtracking, “Sorry, we. Just because we live long lives doesn’t mean we can’t adapt with the times. I guess I don’t quite see myself as a channeler in the traditional sense yet.”  
“That makes sense,” Addison agreed calmly, switching to serious in an instant as an idea manifested. Could she bring it up? She wanted to see how Gabi would respond, and suddenly, it was all too important not to say. “I agree that Central is too stuck in the past,” Addison said carefully, “They didn’t even acknowledge homosexuality as a valid orientation until last year.”  
“I know!” Gabi plowed on, nodding vigorously, “Just because I’m queer-” Gabi froze in her tracks, staring Addison down. “Don’t ever repeat that,” she warned, “Not to anyone. Almost nobody knows.”  
“But The University’s pretty liberal. I don’t think most people here care what-”  
“Just don’t!” Gabi growled, running a hand through her hair, “Cabrón! Nunca creía que… I didn’t mean to say that I was a lesbian. I want to go to Central when I graduate, work my way up to a Committee position, and finally make some changes. But I’ll never get nominated if they know I’m queer. They’re barely on board with non-Europeans.”  
Addison nodded at the truth. “I won’t say anything to anyone,” she agreed, “But nobody should have to be in the closet in this century.”  
“Look,” Gabi frowned, placing her hands on Addison’s shoulders to look right into her eyes- Wow, those were beautiful eyes, “You don’t understand. No, it’s okay-” Gabi cut her off as she began to speak, “You can’t, because you’re-”  
“-straight?” Addison laughed, grabbing Gabi’s hands and guiding them from her shoulders. Gabi literally saw sparks where their fingers intertwined. “I understand. I’m queer too.”  
What? What? “Are you sure?” Damn- she hadn’t meant to sound so skeptical.  
Addison’s eyes narrowed. “Positive.”  
“Sorry,” Gabi backtracked, “I didn’t mean- I mean, you look so straight, is all.” Damn, Gabi. Not the thing to say.  
“I look straight?” Addison echoed, fully toneless. Her eyes narrowed even further, Gabi noticed.  
“No! I mean, I- I’m glad you’re not straight, I just wasn’t expecting- Damn.” Okay. It was time to shut the fuck up.   
Suddenly Addison’s whole manner changed, her posture, her look. She cocked her head and Gabi had the distinct impression that Addison was evaluating her. She didn’t like it.  
“You’re glad that I’m not straight?” Addison queried, standing perfectly still as she met Gabi’s eyes.   
“You know what? Why don’t we forget I ever said anything?” Gabi nearly begged.   
Addison stared at her for a moment more before nodding.   
Damn, Gabi mused in shock, she had almost accidentally confessed to Addison. That would definitely throw a wrench in their working relationship. For all she knew Addison wouldn’t even want to see her after learning how she felt. And more importantly, she couldn’t handle a relationship right then- the only person close to a friend she had had at school was just murdered, and all she had time for at the moment was finding the killer. The worst thing to do would be to accidentally spill her feelings for Addison. Any knowledge of those had gone to the grave with Louise, and they weren’t about to re-emerge any time soon.

**Author's Note:**

> The author feeds on comments. Tell me how I've done!


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